Shrek spinoff Puss In Boots has battled its way to the top of the Australian box office in its opening weekend, fighting off competition from Warner Bros' rom-com New Year’s Eve.
Produced by heavyweight studio DreamWorks Animation, Puss In Boots grossed $2.9 million over the weekend across 507 screens, giving it a screen average of $5757. With preview screenings, the Paramount-distributed film has taken just under $4 million. Animated film Arthur Christmas, aiming to attract the same audience, remained in sixth position in its third weekend, making just $558,100 for Sony.
Puss In Boots will soon battle it out in the country with other animated fare Happy Feet Two and The Muppets, which open on December 26 and January 12, 2012 respectively. In the US, Puss In Boots opened with $US34 million, which was seen as less-than-expected. Be that as it may, it's still raked in an estimated $US284 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
With a budget of about $US130 million, the animated flick, presented in both 2D and 3D, follows the fighting feline before his first appearance in Shrek 2 in 2004. Directed by Chris Miller who was recently interviewed by IF, the film puts Puss against Jack and Jill – two murderous outlaws in ownership of magical beans.
New Year’s Eve, the latest from Pretty Woman director Garry Marshall, opened at number two, grossing $2.6 million across 336 screens. With an impressive cast including Robert De Niro and Jessica Biel, the rom-com follows intertwining stories of characters trying to navigate their way through romance on New Year's Eve, in New York City. View the trailer here.
After four strong weeks at the local box office, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 slipped from first to third place, grossing another $1.2 million on 370 screens. It's now made an impressive $26.2 million and an estimated $US633 million worldwide.
Sony Pictures’ Jack and Jill, starring Adam Sandler, and Roadshow’s The Inbetweeners grossed $1 million and $999,980 respectively and secured fourth and fifth place.
Australian films had a pretty slow weekend at the box office. Burning Man, from Jonathan Teplitzky, added a further $11,726 from 18 screens, while Ivan Sen’s Toomelah made $1781 from three screens. Australian/Chinese co-production 33 Postcards, distributed by Titan View, grossed $2860 from five screens and doco Autoluminescent, for Umbrella, made $2611 from four screens in its seventh weekend.
Films opening this week include Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Melancholia, Dolphin Tale, The Women on the 6th Floor and Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.
Australian films at the local box office 2011
Source: IF Magazine, MPDAA